Hilton’s Chennai property to open today

SummaryGlobal hotel chain Hilton Worldwide will open its fourth India property in Chennai on Monday. The five-star 204-room Hilton Chennai, owned by Empee Group, which has diversified interests from alcoholic beverages to property development, was built with an initial investment of Rs 400 crore.

Global hotel chain Hilton Worldwide will open its fourth India property in Chennai on Monday. The five-star 204-room Hilton Chennai, owned by Empee Group, which has diversified interests from alcoholic beverages to property development, was built with an initial investment of Rs 400 crore. Empee Hotels, the hospitality division of Rs 20 billion Empee Group, has plans to complete its proposed second phase of the hotel, stretching to the adjacent piece of land, in another three years.

Nisha Purushothaman, managing director, Empee Hotels, said, “We will be investing another Rs 150 crore in the second phase of development which will see an addition 150 rooms. As we own the land it will be much easier to carry out the expansion works.” Positioned as a business hotel, Hilton Chennai is strategically located in Guindy and close to major technology parks. It is also near to popular tourist attractions such as Guindy National Park and Marina Beach. M P Purushothaman, chairman Empee Group said, “The collaboration with Hilton Worldwide will add depth and breadth to our hospitality portfolio. We are confident that through Hilton’s international hotel management expertise and Empee Group’s strong local knowledge and network, Hilton Chennai will be the preferred hotel for local and international business as well as for liesure travellers in India.” Hilton Chennai will be the fourth Hilton property in India, joining Hilton New Delhi, Janakpuri, Hilton Garden Inn, New Delhi, Saket and Hilton Mumbai international airport. Giving details on Empee Hotels' ongoing projects, Nisha said the hospitality company was in the process of building a four-star hotel in the city after demolishing its own property, at an investment of Rs 150 crore, for which it is scouting for hospitality majors for managing it.The hotel will have a total of 100 rooms.

“We have land banks at locations such as at Kuthambakam and Sriperumbudur, both on the outskirts of Chennai as well as in Coimbatore and Bangalore. We plan to build hotel properties at these sites. Additionally, we will be building residential apartments and will be floating a separate arm for the purpose.” She said the company's planned foray into real estate business will be with the construction of 1,350 residential apartments in Kuthambakkam on the city outskirts.

“We own about 13 acres in Kuthambakkam and another 20 acres in Sriperumbudur. In Bangalore, we have about five acres at Whitefield,” she said.